Garment hanger



March 1, 1960 M. WEISER GARMENT HANGER Filed Nov. 29, 1956 INVENTOR. I'VE/55g More/5 United States Patent 3 The present invention relates to a garment hanger and is directed to the provision of such hanger that is particularly adapted for use, especially commercially, as in factories and stores, for the hanging of small size garments or other garments in which the top, hanger receiving opening is restricted either inherently orby closure means. i I

In factories or stores handling garments with small or restricted top openings through which thegarment hanger is to project, suchas childrens'dresses or the like, or

sweaters, which are normally buttoned, the insertion of a garment hanger and also its removal is a relatively tedious and time consuming task. As the top openings are too small for the, insertion therethrough of the conventional garment hanger, such hanger must be inserted from the bottom of the garment and fumblingly moved upwardly therethrough until its neck and hook project from the garment top. This operation is not only tedious and time consuming but may cause the wrinkling of the garment and, especially in knitted and jersey garments, may cause snags in the fabric.

It is an object of the present invention to provide garment hangers of the character described that may be conveniently used with garments having small or restricted top or hanger receiving openings and may be readily insertable into such garment through the top opening.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide garment hangers of the character described which may be easily and quickly inserted into the small or restricted top opening of a garment and quickly and easily arranged therein in garment supporting position.

It is another object of the present invention to provide garment hangers of the character described which may not only be easily and quickly insertable through the small or restricted top opening of a garment but which may also be just as easily and quickly removed therefrom, to thereby facilitate the handling of such garments in factory and store.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide garment hangers of the character described which are light weight; which are compact; which are formed of a minimum number of simple, easily assembled parts and, therefore, economical to produce, and which are generally simple and easy to manipulate.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the garment hangers of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the one embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawing and from the description following. It is to be understood, however, that such embodiment is shown by way of illustration only, to make the principles and practice of the invention more readily comprehensible, and without any intent of limiting the invention to the specific details therein shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of one embodiment of a garment hanger of the present invention; shown in extended, garment supporting position and partly broken away, to show structural detail;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, elevational view of the, garment hanger of the invention; shown in the inserting, position, and likewise partly broken away to show details;

of construction; and t Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of the interconnecting end portions of the two sections of the garment hanger illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Generally stated, the present invention consists in the provision of a garment hanger in which at least one of.

the shoulder portions is separately formed and is pivotally supported directly on the hanger neck in depending position and also releasably engageable directly on the hanger neck, in spaced relation to the point of pivot, to be supported thereon in laterally extended garment supporting position. i

More specifically stated, and with particular reference to the molded synthetic plastic hanger illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, such hanger is, in its overall aspect, of generally conventional form and shape and consists, in general, of a central neck portion 10 of generally greater height than the adjacent shoulder por tions to each side thereof, with which is associated, in

any conventional manner, the supporting hook 12. The e neck 10 may have integrally molded or otherwise formed therewith the one shoulder portion 14, and both said 1 neck 10 and shoulder 14 mayhave the conventional thin" central portion '16 and a surrounding marginal widened or thickened reinforcing edge portion 18, which extends laterally to each side of the central portion 16.

The shoulder portion 14 may be formed with one or' more conventional slits 20 for the engagement of garment such extension 22. Such extension 22 may also be pro-* vided with a second slot 28 extending inwardly fromits outer edge, preferablyat a point below the center of its height, transversely to the slot 24, said slot" 28 being formed with a central circular enlargement 30 at a central point thereof. The slot 28 may preferably be formed with curved outer edge portions.

The hanger of the invention is provided with a second, separate shoulder portion 32, identical insize, shape and form with the corresponding portion of the shoulder 14,

and having a thin wall portion 34, having the marginal reinforcing rib 36, which preferably extends vertically across its inner end, as at 38. The shoulder section 32 is formed at its inner end, forwardly of the rib '38, with an arcuate shaped tongue extension 40, of a thickness adapted to fit freely within the slot 24 of the extension 22, and is provided or formed, on each face thereof, with a cylindrical pin 42, adapted, when the tongue 40 is fitted into the slot 24, to be forced through the forward end of the slot 28, to engage within its enlargements 30, serving as a pivot for supporting the shoulder 32, in pivoted dependent position on the neck 10 of the hanger.

It may here be stated that, if desired, the slot 28 may be omitted from the extension 22, leaving only openings 30, in its walls or corresponding recesses on their inner faces, and the pins 42 on the tongue extension may be replaced by corresponding rounded teats, which may be forced into the slot 24, due to the inherent resilience of the material of the slot walls, to engage within such openings or recesses, to provide a pivot for the shoulder section 32.

The shoulder section 32 is provided at its inner end, at a point above the tongue 38 and spaced upwardly Patented Mar. 1,

v therefrom, with'a preferably integrally formed leaf-like extension 46, which may constitute an extension of the reinforcing marginal rib 32, and having, at its forward end, a detent opening or recess 36, adapted, when the shouldersection is moved into laterally extended, garmerit supporting position, to engage over a detent projection 48,. provided at the upper end'of the neck extension 22, to maintain said shoulder in such laterally extended position. The detent projection 48 may have its upper end suitably curved to facilitate both, the snapping on and off of the leaf extension 46, which is made possible by the inherently resilient nature of the material and its relatively thin cross-section.

Having thus described the construction of the garment hanger of the invention, its use and operation now become apparent. The shoulder 32 is first pivotally engaged on the extension 22, in the manner described. In this position, with the shoulder 32, dependent, the hanger is inserted through the hanger receiving opening of a garment which is not sufficiently large to admit the hanger in fully extended position. After insertion of the hanger, in its above position, the shoulder 32 is grasped, either from the exterior of the garment or from the interior thereof, and is moved into extended position, until the detent opening 36 is snapped and retained on the detent48. To remove the garment from the hanger, the operation is reversed.

This completes the description of the hanger of the present invention and the method of its use. It will be readily apparent that such hanger is made of a minimum of parts allof which may be easily and economically formed and easily, quickly and conveniently assembled, either at the point of manufacture or the point of use, sothat the hangers may be economically manufactured, at little advance in cost over corresponding conventional hangers. It will also be apparent that such hangers may be easily, quickly and conveniently used, to make possible great convenience as well as great economies in time and labor at the point of use.

It will be further apparentthat numerous modifications and variations in the garment hangers of the present .invention, as in the material from which they are formed or in their shape, size and outline, and in other respects, may be made by any one skilled in the art, in accordance with the principles of the invention hereinabove set forth and without the exercise'of any inventive ingenuity.

I desire, therefore, to 'be protected for any and all such modifications and variations that may be made within.

- slot formed in an end thereof, the side walls of said slot having registering recesses formed in their inner faces, the other of said portions having a tongue extending from an end thereof, said tongue having oppositely di rected, registering, rounded projections formed on its side faces adapted to pivotally engage within said recesses when said tongue is inserted into said slot, one of said portions having a detent projection on the upper edge thereof, the other of said portions having a strip extending from the upper edge thereof, said strip having an opening formed therein and arranged to have said opening engage over said detent projection when said portions are pivotally interengaged and moved into laterally extended position relative to one another.

2. The collapsible-garment hanger of claim 1, wherein said recesses each comprises a hole formed in a side wall of said slot and is formed with a narrowed portion opening in an edge of said side wall.

3. The collapsible garment hanger of claim 1, wherein said slot is formed in said neck portion and said tongue extends from said shoulder portion.

4. The collapsible garment hanger of claim 1, wherein said slot and said detent projection are formed in one of said portions and said tongue and said strip extend from the other of said portions. I

5. The collapsible garment hanger of claim 1, wherein said tongue and said strip extend from said shoulder portion and said slot and said detent projection are formedin said neck portion.

References Cited in the-file of this patent Goodman May 15, 1956 

